Love for ‘Umar Al-Faruq – Hafiz Sher Muhammad

Translated

Abu Sinan

Checked & Revised

Abu Khuzaimah Ansaari

 

Taken from ‘Fadail As-Sahabah Sahih Riwayat Ki Roshni Mein’  (p.40-43)
Tahqiq and Takhrij by Shaykh Zubair ‘Aliza’i

Our beloved Noble Prophet ﷺ would invoke Allah, saying, “Oh Allah! Honour Islam through whichever of these two men is more beloved to you: Through Abu Jahl, or through ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab.” Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “And the most beloved out of the two was ‘Umar.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi #3681 and its chain is Hasan)

The results of this Prophetic Invocation was that Amir Al-Mu’minin (Chief of the Believers) ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam – Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “We have not ceased to have honour since ‘Umar accepted Islam.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari #3684)

What is famous amongst the common-people is that Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) left desiring to kill the Prophet ﷺ, then someone informed him that his sister had accepted Islam, so he went to her home and severely beat her, and thereafter he became a Muslim – This narration is found in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d (3/287-289), Sunan Ad-Daraqutni (1/123 #435), Dala’il An-Nabuwwah of Al-Bayhaqi (2/219,220), and is present in various other books, however, this chain of narration is weak. A narrator in this chain, by the name of Qasim bin ‘Uthman Al-Basri, is considered weak by the majority of the Muhaddithin (scholars of Hadith). Imam Ad-Daraqutni said regarding this narration, “It is not strong.” All the narrations in this matter are weak and rejected – see Sirah Ibn Hisham (1/367-371) and Sirah An-Nabawiyyah of Adh-Dhahabi (p. 172-181).

It has reached us in some narrations that the Prophet ﷺ was praying in the House of Allah, and the recitation of the Qur’an had an effect on Sayyiduna ‘Umar’s heart upon hearing it, and due to this he accepted Islam. (Musnad Ahmad #107, this narration is weak due to a disconnection)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Verily in the Nations that preceded you were Muhaddathun (those that receive intuition and insight from Allah), and if there was anyone from amongst them from my nation, then verily it would be ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari #3469)

Two matters are proven from this Hadith:

1. Sayyiduna ‘Umar Al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) is a person of great virtue and status.
2. Noone from the Muslim Nation receives ‘Kashf’ or ‘Ilham’.¹

It has reached us in one narration that the Prophet ﷺ said to Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), “Verily the Shaytan fears you, O ‘Umar!” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi #3690, and he [Abu ‘Isa At-Tirmidhi] said: ‘This is a Hasan Sahih Gharib Hadith’, its chain is Hasan)

In another narration, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Indeed I have seen the Shayatin from amongst men and the jinn, and surely they have run from ‘Umar.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi #3691, and he [Abu ‘Isa At-Tirmidhi] said: ‘This is a Hasan Sahih Gharib Hadith’, and its chain is Hasan)

The Prophet ﷺ said to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), “O Ibn Al-Khattab! By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the Shaytan does not meet you travelling on a way except that he takes a way other than yours.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari #3683, Sahih Muslim #2396, Adhwa’ul Masabih #6027)

It has reached us in one Hadith that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Verily Allah has placed the truth upon the tongue and heart of ‘Umar!” (Sahih Ibn Hibban #2184 and its chain is Sahih)

On some occasions, some verses from the Glorious Qur’an were revealed in agreement with the saying of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) – see Sahih Al-Bukhari (#402, #4483) and Sahih Muslim (#3391).

Sayyiduna ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “If there were to be a prophet after me, it would have been ‘Umar.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi #3686, and he [Abu ‘Isa At-Tirmidhi] said: ‘This is a Hasan Gharib Hadith.’, its chain is Hasan)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on one occasion, “While I was sleeping, I saw the people being presented to me while they were wearing shirts, so some of their shirts only reached their chests, and some were beneath that, and ‘Umar was presented to me and his shirt was dragging.” The people asked him, “How have you interpreted it, O Messenger of Allah!?” He replied, “The Religion.” – Meaning Sayyiduna ‘Umar holds a higher status than all the people, after Sayyiduna Abu Bakr. (Sahih Al-Bukhari #3691, Sahih Muslim #3390)

The Noble Prophet ﷺ saw the Palace of ‘Umar in Jannah. (Sahih Al-Bukhari #5226, #7024, Sahih Muslim #2394)

Sayyiduna ‘Umar being from the People of Jannah was attested to on the blessed tongue of the Prophet ﷺ. (Tirmidhi #3747, and its chain is Sahih)

The merits and virtues of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) are many, and to gather them to present them in front of the reader in a small book is a demanding task – for more detail, I advise one to read ‘Fadhail As-Sahabah’ of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, and ‘Fadhail ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab’ of Ibn Al-Jawzi.

Finally, we will present the final moments of Amir Al-Mu’minin ‘Umar Al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Disbelieving Majusi (Fire-Worshipper) Abu Lu’lua inflicted a fatal wound on Sayyiduna ‘Umar by stabbing him, snatching the barrier between Islam and Fitnah (Trials and Tribulations). Milk was given to ‘Umar to drink, which came out of his intestines (indicating the severity of the wound); In this state, a young boy arrived and Sayyiduna ‘Umar saw that his Izar (lower garment) was below his ankles, so he said, “O my nephew! Raise your garment, for verily it is cleaner for your garment and it is more pious for your Rabb!” (Sahih Al-Bukhari #3700)

Sayyiduna Amir Al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) named one of his children ‘Umar. (Taqrib Al-Tadhib #4951)

SubhanAllah! He did not care for his wounds, rather he spent his final moments worrying about raising the status of the Sunnah³ of the Prophet ﷺ. O Allah! Fill our hearts with love for Sayyiduna ‘Umar! O Allah! End the misfortune of those people without ‘Iman that hate Amir Al-Mu’minin Shahid ‘Umar, and fill their hearts with love! As for those that, thereafter, still hate Sayyiduna ‘Umar, then torture and humiliate them in this life and the next.

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَآ إِلَّا ٱلۡبَلَـٰغُ ٱلۡمُبِينُ

“And our duty is only to convey plainly (the Message).” [36:17]

 

¹ [TN:] What the author (may Allah preserve him) seems to intend here is the false ‘Kashf’ of the Sufis, who believe their saints can see into the hearts of others, or are constantly watching over their students, etc. As for the real Karamat of the Awliya, then this is not being negated, as has reached us in authentic narrations.

² [TN:] Abu Lu’lua was a Magian slave of Al-Mughira bin. Shu’bah, after applying poison to a two-headed dagger (the common depiction of the Zulfiqar championed by the Rafidha today has its origins in a Persian Majusi dagger), he stabbed ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab as he was leading the Fajr prayer, and stabbed 13 others whilst trying to escape. Once he realised he had been caught, he killed himself. He is now revered as a saint by some from the Rafidha (may Allah destroy them), and there is even a shrine dedicated to him in Iran. What is apparent is that this man wanted to destroy Islam, hence attacking ‘Umar instead of Al-Mughira, who he believed was oppressing him.

³ [TN:] Al-Miswar entered upon ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭṭāb after the morning prayer in the night in which he was stabbed, so he woke ʿUmar up, saying: “The Prayer, The Prayer.” So ʿUmar replied, “Yes, and there is no share in Islām for the one that abandons the prayer.” So ʿUmar prayed and blood was pouring out from his wound. (Al-Muwaṭṭa of Imām Mālik, #91 in the rescension of Abu Musʿab Az-Zuhrī, Shaykh Al-Albani said: ‘Sahih upon the conditions of the Shaykhayn’ [Irwa’ Al-Ghalil 1/225], Sahih Isnad according to Shu’ayb Arna’ut [Takhrij Sharhus Sunnah 330])